Kansas; a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence, Voilume I, Part 4

Author: Blackmar, Frank Wilson, 1854-1931, ed
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago, Standard publishing company
Number of Pages: 954

USA > Kansas > Kansas; a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence, Voilume I > Part 4

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The stations at Ogallah and Dodge City are forestry stations, and are operated under the direct management of state forester and general supervision of the director of the Experiment Station. The engineering experiment station was established by the board of regents, "for the purpose of carrying on continued series of tests of engineering and manufacturing value to the State of Kansas, and to conduct these tests on a scale sufficiently large that the results will be of direct commercial value." Among the experiments made are those of cement and con- crete, Kansas coals, lubricants and bearings, endurance tests of paints, power required for driving machine tools, etc. President Fairchild remained at the head of the Agricultural College from 1879 to 1897. The growth of the institution under his direction was steady and sub- stantial. He was succeeded by Mr. Thomas E. Will. It is said great prominence was given economic, financial and social problems during the presidency of Mr. Will. In 1897 four year courses were established in domestic science, agriculture, mechanical engineering and general science. Mr. Will resigned in 1899, and Prof. E. R. Nichols was chosen to fill his place first as acting president, later as president.

The rapid increase in attendance made new buildings necessary. In 1900 the agricultural hall and dairy barn were erected; in 1902, the physical science hall, in 1906 the granary, and in 1904 the dairy hall, college extension. Until 1905 the extension work of the college was in the form of farmer's institutes held throughout the state, this work be- ing in charge of a committee chosen from the faculty. The small means available made the institutes irregular and the attendance was small. In 1905 the board of regents employed a superintendent to organize the department of farmers' institutes, and in 1906 the department was for- mally organized. To the appropriation of $4,000 made by the legislature of 1905 the college added $800. The interest of the state in the agricul- tural extension and the results derived therefrom resulted in an appro-

CYCLOPEDIA OF

priation of $11,500 by the legislature of 1907 to which the college added $1,000. In 1909 the legislature appropriated $52,500 for the department, the policies and plans of which are established by a committee consist- ing of the president of the college, the director of the experiment station and the superintendent of the division. The department includes the following forms of agricultural extension : Farmers' institutes ; publica- tions for institute members; agricultural railway trains; schoolhouse campaigns ; boys' corn growing contests ; girls' cooking and sewing con- tests ; rural education; demonstration farming; highway construction ; movable schools; special campaigns ; publications for teachers; corre- spondence courses (18 courses offered) ; home economic clubs.

President Nichols resigned in 1909 and Henry Jackson Waters was chosen by the board of regents to succeed him. The Agricultural Col- lege now owns 748 acres of land including the campus of 160 acres. The buildings which are built of white limestone number twenty-one. The corps of instructors numbers 165, and the number of students enrolled in 1910 was 1,535 males, 770 females, a total of 2,305.

Agricultural Society, State .- The first effort to organize a state-or more properly speaking a territorial-agricultural society, was made on July 16, 1857, when a mass meeting was held at Topeka to consider the subject. After discussion pro and con a committee was appointed to draw up a constitution for such a society. Among the members of this committee were Dr. Charles Robinson, W. F. M. Arny, C. C. Hutchin- son, Dr. A. Hunting and W. Y. Roberts. An organization was effected under a constitution presented by the committee, but for various reasons the society was never able to accomplish much in the way of promoting the agricultural interests of Kansas. In the first place the projectors of the movement were mostly ardent free-state men, while the territorial authorities were of the opposite political faith, so that it was impossible to secure the passage of laws favorable to the work of the society. Added to this, the unsettled conditions in the territory, due largely to the political agitation for the adoption of a state constitution and the admission of Kansas into the Union, kept the public mind so occupied that it was a difficult matter to arouse sufficient interest in agriculture to place the society on a solid footing. After a short existence it ceased its efforts altogether. The books collected by the society were afterward given to the state library by Judge L. D. Bailey.

The territorial legislature of 1860 provided for the organization of county agricultural societies in the counties of Coffey, Doniphan, Doug- las, Franklin, Linn and Wabaunsee, and for the "Southern Kansas Agri- cultural Society," but no provisions were ever made by the authorities during the territorial era for a society that would cover the entire terri- tory in its operations.

By the act of May 10, 1861, the first state legislature authorized ten or more persons to form an agricultural or a horticultural society in any county, town, city or village, and file articles of association with the secretary of the state society and with the county clerk in the county

KANSAS HISTORY

where the society was located. As a matter of fact, at the time this law was passed there was no state agricultural society, but on Feb. 5, 1862, a meeting was held in the hall of the house of representatives at Topeka for the purpose of organizing one. W. R. Wagstaff, F. G. Adams, Gol- den Silvers, J. Medill and R. A. Van Winkle were appointed as a com- mittee to draft a constitution, and upon the adoption of their report the following officers were elected: President, Lyman Scott; secretary, Franklin G. Adams; treasurer, Isaac Garrison; executive committee, E. B. Whitman, R. A. Van Winkle, Welcome Wells, F. P. Baker, W. A. Shannon, J. W. Sponable, C. B. Lines, Thomas Arnold, Martin Ander- son and J. C. Marshall.

The constitution adopted at the formation of the society provided for the payment by each member of annual dues of one dollar, or for ten dollars one could become a life member. It also provided for the organ- ization of county societies as auxilaries to the state society.

On Jan. 13, 1863, L. D. Bailey succeeded Lyman Scott as president. Mr. Bailey served as president until Jan. 16, 1867, when he was suc- ceeded by Robert G. Elliott, who in turn was succeeded by I. S. Kal- loch on Sept. 30, 1870, the latter continuing to hold the office until the society went out of existence. Mr. Adams served as secretary until Jan. 12, 1865, when John S. Brown was elected as his successor. On Sept. 30, 1870, H. J. Strickler was elected secretary and served until Sept. 15, 1871, when Alfred Gray was elected to the office, being the last secretary of the society.

At a meeting of the executive committee on Feb. 20, 1863, the presi- dent and secretary were given full power to make all the necessary ar- rangements for a state fair, and the first state fair was held at Leaven- worth the following fall-Oct. 6 to 9 inclusive. (See State Fairs.) The legislature of that year made an appropriation of $1,000 for the benefit of the society. Another work of the society in 1863 was the distribution of 500 bushels of cotton seed among the farmers of the state who were desirous of trying the experiment of raising cotton.

On March 12, 1872, the State Agricultural Society held its last meet- ing and adjourned sine die, the State Board of Agriculture (q. v.), which had already been authorized by an act of the legislature, taking its place.

Agricultural Wheel .- During the winter of 1881-82, the unsatisfac- tory condition of the market for farm products, and the oppressiveness of the Arkansas mortgage laws through what was known as the "ana- conda mortgage," led to a wide discussion among the farmers of that state as to the advisability of organizing for cooperation and mutual pro- tection. On Wednesday evening, Feb. 15, 1882, seven farmers met at McBee's school house, 8 miles southwest of the town of Des Arc, in Prairie county, to consider the question of forming some kind of a farm- ers' society. A committee, consisting of W. T. McBee, W. W. Tedford and J. W. McBee, was appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws and report at same place on the evening of the 22nd. At the adjourned meet- ing the Wattensas Farmers' club was organized, the objects of which

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were stated in the constitution as being "The improvement of its mem- bers in the theory and practice of agriculture and the dissemination of knowledge relative to rural and farming affairs."

It seems that the name was not altogether satisfactory to some of those interested, for at the meeting on March I the question of select- ing a new one, with a broader significance, came up for consideration. Some one suggested the name of "Wheel," because "no machine can be run without a drive wheel, and agriculture is the great wheel or power that controls the entire machinery of the world's industries." The so- ciety was therefore reorganized under the new name, with the follow- ing objects :

"I-To unite fraternally all acceptable white males who are engaged in the occupation of farming, also mechanics who are actually engaged in farming.

"2-To give all possible moral and material aid in its power to its members by holding instructive lectures, by encouraging each other in business, and by assisting each other in obtaining employment.

"3-The improvement of its members in the theory and practice of agriculture and the dissemination of knowledge relative to rural and farming affairs.

"4-To ameliorate the condition of the farmers of this country in every possible manner."

By the following spring the organization numbered some 500 mem- bers, and on April 9, 1883, representatives of the local wheels in Ar- kansas met at the residence of W. T. McBee, one of the seven founders, and launched the state wheel, with E. B. McPherson as grand president. Deputies were appointed to carry the order into new territory by the establishment of local wheels, and the organization spread rapidly to other states. On July 28, 1886, delegates from the local wheels in Ar- kansas, Kentucky and Tennessee met at Litchfield, Ark., and organized the national wheel with Isaac McCracken of Ozone, Ark., as president, and A. E. Gardner of Dresden, Tenn., as secretary and treasurer. The State Wheel Enterprise, published by Louis B. Audigier, at Searcy, Ark., was made the organ of the national organization. This gave a new impetus to the order, which on March I, 1887, just five years after it was founded, boasted a membership of 500,000, the greater portion of which was in the states of Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missis- sippi and Missouri, though the order had extended into the Indian Ter -. ritory and Wisconsin.

Upon the organization of the national wheel a platform was adopted, in which the following demands were made: The preservation of the public domain of the United States for actual settlers ; legislation to pre- vent aliens from owning land in this country; the coinage of enough gold and silver into money to assure a speedy extinguishment of the national debt; the abolition of national banks and the issue of enough legal tender notes to do the business of the country on a cash basis; legislation by Congress to prevent dealing in futures in agricultural pro-

KANSAS HISTORY

ductions ; a graduated income tax; a strict enforcement of the laws pro- hibiting the importation of foreign labor under the contract system; ownership by the people of all means of transportation and communica- tion; the election of all officers of the national government by a direct vote of the people ; the repeal of all laws that bear unequally on capital and labor; the amendment of the tariff laws so that all import duties on articles that enter into American manufactures should be removed, and that duties be levied on articles of luxury, but not high enough to prevent their importation; the education of the masses by a well regu- lated system of free schools; no renewal of patents at the expiration of the period for which they were originally granted.

A resolution was also adopted by the national wheel pledging the members to support no man for Congress "of any political party, who will not pledge himself in writing to use all his influence for the forma- tion of these demands into laws."

At a meeting of the national wheel at Meridian, Miss., in Dec., 1888, it was recommended that the organization unite with the Farmers' Al- liance. A joint meeting of delegates belonging to the two organizations was held at Birmingham, Ala., May 15, 1889, and the two orders were consolidated on Sept. 24, following.

Agriculture .- In a general sense agriculture in Kansas was com- menced in 1825, when the government by a treaty made with the Kansas Indians agreed to supply them with cattle, hogs and agricul- tural implements, but literally history of agriculture begins with the Quiviran Indians who were tilling the soil more than two centuries earlier, when Don Juan de Onate (q. v.) tarried with them on his jour- ney from New Mexico.

John B. Dunbar, in an article on "The White Man's Foot in Kan- sas," speaks of the pleasant effect the country of the Quivirans had upon Onate. As contrasted with the arid regions of New Mexico and northern Mexico it seemed to him a veritable land of promise, "The frequent streams, the wide prairies, pleasantly diversified with gently rolling hills and admirably adapted to cultivation, the rich soil, spontaneously afforded a variegated growth of grass, flowering plants, and native fruits, nuts, Indian potatoes, etc., that added much to the attractiveness of the entire region." The Quivirans, "in cultivating the soil, worshipped the planet, Venus, known as Hopirikuts, the Great Star, recognized by them as the patron of agriculture, as did in later days their descendants, the Pawnees. Sometimes, after plant- ing their corn patches to secure a good crop, they offered the captive girl as a sacrifice to Hopirikuts. As time passed many of the tribe came to look upon this usage with disfavor, and finally, in 1819, by the interference of Pitalesharu, a young brave of well known character as a man of recognized prowess as war chief, the usage was finally dis- continued."

It is not said that the Kansas Indians received their suggestion of husbandry from the remote Quivirans but they were the next farmers

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in Kansas. Dr. Thomas Say, the chief zoologist of the Long Ex- pedition, in writing of his visit to the Kansas village in 1819, said : "They commonly placed before us a sort of soup, composed of maize of the present season, of that description, which after having under- gone a certain preparation, is appropriately named sweet-corn, boiled in water, and enriched with a few slices of bison meat, grease and some beans, and, to suit it to our palates, it was generally seasoned with rock salt, which is procured near the Arkansas river. . Another very

acceptable dish was called lyed corn. . . . They also make much use

of maize roasted on the cob, of boiled pumpkins, of muskmelons and watermelons, but the latter are generally pulled from the vine before they are completely ripe." Dr. Say further states that the young females before marriage cultivated the fields. The agency of the Kansas In- dians was established at the mouth of the Grasshopper creek in 1827. Daniel Morgan Boone, the farmer appointed by the government, com- menced farming at this point in 1827 or 1828. Rev. Isaac McCoy, in 1835, reported that the government had 20 acres fenced and I0 acres plowed at "Fool Chief's" village, 3 miles west of the present North Topeka. In the spring of 1835 the government selected 300 acres in what is now Shawnee county, and about the same number south of the Kansas River, in the valley of Mission creek and carried on farm- ing on quite an extensive scale. The emigrant tribes from the east who came into Kansas from 1825-1832 were sufficiently civilized to have a knowledge of farming and good farms were cultivated by members of the various tribes and by the white missionaries who settled among them.

The first cultivation of the soil by white men on a scale large enough to be called farming was at Fort Leavenworth in 1829 or 1830; at the mouth of Grasshopper creek by Daniel Morgan Boone; and at the Shaw- nee mission farm in Johnson county by Rev. Thomas Johnson as early as 1830. Farms were quite common on the Indian reservations, and at the various missions, when Congress passed the bill creating Kansas Territory. The remarkable fertility of the soil of Kansas and its adaptability to agricultural purposes had been experimentally proven and were well known before the territorial bill was passed. Hence, the tide of immigration from 1854 to 1856 was due as much to the natural resources of the land as to the political preferment. The un- settled condition of territorial affairs from 1858 to 1860 was not aus- picious for the pursuance of industrial arts. The settlers planted crops but raised barely enough for their own consumption. The United States census for 1860 in its report on Kansas shows 405,468 acres in improved farms and 372,932 acres in unimproved farms, with the cash value of both as $12,258,239. There were then farming implements valued at $727,694; 20,344 horses; 1,496 mules; 28,550 milch cows; 2,155 oxen ; 43,354 other cattle; 17,569 sheep; 138,244 swine, and the value of this live stock was $3,332,450. There were 194,173 bushels of wheat; 3,833 bushels of rye; 6,150,727 bushels of Indian corn; 88,-

KANSAS HISTORY

325 bushels of oats; 20,349 pounds of tobacco; 24,400 pounds of cotton ; 24,746 pounds of wool ; 9,827 bushels of peas and beans ; 296,335 bushels of Irish potatoes; 9,965 bushels of sweet potatoes; 4,716 bushels of barley ; 41,575 bushels of buckwheat; orchard products valuing $656; market garden products worth $31,641 ; 1,093,497 pounds of butter ; 29,- 045 pounds of cheese; 56,232 tons of hay; 103 bushels of clover seed ; 3,043 bushels of grass seed ; 197 pounds of hops; 1,135 pounds of flax; II bushels of flax seed ; 40 pounds of silk cocoons ; 3,742 pounds of maple sugar ; 2 gallons of maple molasses ; 87,656 gallons of sorghum molasses ; 1,181 pounds of beeswax, and 16,944 pounds of honey.

The small beginning toward agricultural development received a serious setback by what is known as the drought of 1860, which really began in Sept., 1859, and lasted until the fall of the next year. (See Droughts.) The struggle with poverty was accompanied by a struggle for statehood, and in 1861 Kansas, a poor, destitute, forlorn young thing, clothed in grain sacks and hope, was admitted to the Union. An optimism born of determination is indicated in the laws of the legisla- ture of 1862, by which a Kansas State Agricultural society was or- ganized, "for the purpose of promoting the improvement of agriculture and its kindred arts," and by which county and town agricultural and horicultural societies could be formed. The small development of the state had not extended over much territory, as in 1861 the map of Kansas was blank beyond the tier of counties embracing Saline, Marion and Butler. During the Civil war very little growth was made in any way, and while agriculture received more attention than many things, few surplus crops were raised. However, in 1863, the legislature ap- propriated $1,000 to the State Agricultural Society, thus keeping in mind the main business of the state in spite of war and strife. At the close of the war, from 1865 until 1870, a second invasion of emigrants entered Kansas, especially the southeastern portion. This invasion con- sisted of the sturdy young men who were discharged from the army, and, out of employment, turned to the fields of Kansas to make a home and support their families. These families were all poor, but kindly in their relations with one another. They exchanged work when outside assistance was needed, because there was no money for wages. Mr. Carey in an article on the Osage ceded lands gives a vivid glimpse of these settlers and their methods and shows a slight social line of de- marcation between those owning American horses, and those owning mustangs and Indian ponies, and between these and the owners of oxen. The implements employed were of an ordinary sort and all the com- munities of the state used the methods of farming prevalent in the dis- tricts from which they migrated, and confined their efforts to the com- mon crops. During the period from 1865 to 1870 farming commenced to be a vocation in Kansas. Much time and serious thought were given to it. In 1869 the legislature passed an act for the distribution of wheat on the western frontier. (See Harvey's Administration.)

The agricultural development of the state during the decade from

CYCLOPEDIA OF

1860 to 1870 is shown by the following statistics compiled by the ninth United States census. It shows 1,971,003 acres of improved land, 635,- 419 acres of woodland and 3,050,457 acres of unimproved land. The valuation of farms was $90,327,040; of farming implements and ma- chinery, $4,053,312; the total value of all farm productions, including betterments and additions to stock $27,630,651. There were 117,786 horses; 11,786 mules and asses; 12,344 milch cows; 20,774 working oxen ; 229,753 other cattle; 109,088 sheep; 206,587 swine. There were produced on the farms 1,314,522 bushels of spring wheat; 1,076,676 bushels of winter wheat; 17,025,525 bushels of corn; 85,207 bushels of rye ; 4,097,925 bushels of oats; 98,405 of barley; 27,826 of buckwheat; 33,241 pounds of tobacco; 7 bales of cotton; 335,005 pounds of wool; 13,109 bushels of peas and beans; 2,342,988 bushels of Irish potatoes; 49,533 bushels of sweet potatoes; 5,022,758 pounds of butter; 226,607 pounds of cheese ; 490,289 tons of hay ; 334 bushels of clover seed; 8,- 023 bushels of grass seed; 396 pounds of hops; 35 tons of hemp; 1,040 pounds of flax; 1,553 bushels of flaxseed; 938 pounds of maple sugar ; 449,409 gallons of sorghum molasses; 212 gallons of maple molasses; 2,208 pounds of beeswax; 110,827 pounds of honey.

In the early '70s the population grew more rapidly than the crops, thus keeping the country poor; the legislature of 1872 found it necessary to appropriate $3,000 for the relief of settlers in the western part of the state. In March of the same year the Kansas State Agricultural So- ciety went out of existence and the Kansas State Board of agriculture was organized. (See Agriculture, State Board of.)

The state made every effort to develop her fertile acres, but success came slowly, as new catastrophes were constantly happening to retard progress and to depress hope. In July and August, 1874, Kansas re- ceived a devastating visitation from the grasshopper or locust. A great swarm of these insects passed over the state devouring nearly every green thing. They came so suddenly the people were panic stricken. In the western counties, where immigration during the previous two years had been very heavy, and the chief dependence of the settlers was corn, potatoes and garden vegetables, the calamity fell with terri- ble force. Starvation or emigration seemed inevitable unless aid should be furnished. The state board of agriculture set about collecting cor- rect data relating to the effects of the prevailing drouth, and devasta- tion of crops by locusts and cinch bugs, and Gov. Osborn issued a proclamation convening legislature on the 15th day of September. (See Osborn's Administration.)

The grasshopper raid retarded immigration and discouraged the people of the state but did not destroy hope and faith, for in 1876 all forces rallied to redeem the reputation of Kansas. The State Board of Centennial Managers in a communication to the legislature said, "Kansas needs all the advantages of a successful display, Remote from the money centers, the crash of the 'panic' came, sweeping away our values, checking our immigration, and leaving us our land and our

KANSAS HISTORY

debts. The devastation of the locust was an accidental and passing shadow. Our wealth of soil and climate has been reasserted in abundant harvests, but the depression still rests like a blight on the price of real estate. Immigration has halted and investments have measurably ceased." The legislature of 1876 evidently felt the same way about the state because it appropriated $25,000 for the Kansas building and dis- play in Philadelphia. (See Expositions.)

The statistics for 1880, as given by the State Board of agricultural, show 8,868,884.79 acres of land in cultivation, divided as follows : win- ter wheat, 2,215,937 acres, with a product of 23,507,223 bushels, valued at $19,566,034.67; spring wheat, 228,497 acres, 1,772,661 bushels, $1,- 414,633.90; rye, 54,748 acres, 676,507 bushels, $270,602.80; corn, 3,554,- 396 acres, 101,421,718 bushels, $24,926,079.07; barley, 17,121 acres, 287,- 057 bushels, $143,528.50; oats, 477,827 acres, 11,483,796 bushels, $2,918,- 689.17 ; buckwheat, 2,671.41 acres, 43,455 bushels, $39,110; Irish potatoes, 66,233 acres, 4,919,227 bushels, $3,279,501.85; sweet potatoes, 4,02I acres, 391,196.55 bushels, $391,196.55 ; sorghum, 32,945.09 acres, 3.787,- 535 gallons, $1,704,390.98; castor beans, 50,437.61 acres, 558,974.28 bushels, $558,974.28 ; cotton, 838.34 acres, 142,517.80 pounds, $12,826.67 ; hemp, 597.22 acres, 635,872 pounds, $38,152.32; tobacco, 607.21 acres, 449,335.40 pounds, $44,933.54; broom corn, 25,507.64 acres, 17,279-, 664.50 pounds, $604.788.27; rice corn, 27,138.40 acres, 493,915 bushels, $125,353.12 ; pearl millet, 8,031.40 acres, 26,784 tons, $115,527 ; millet and hungarian, 268,485 acres, 602,300.31 tons, $2,542,565.95; timothy meadow, 49,201.46 acres, 79,634.16 tons, $447,411.20; clover meadow, 16,637.61 acres, 26,796.16 tons, $151,764.05; clover, blue grass and prairie pasture, 959,456.91 acres; prairie meadow, 679,744 acres, 798,707 tons, $2,570,290.85.

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Kansas; a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence, Voilume I, Part 4

Author: Blackmar, Frank Wilson, 1854-1931, ed Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago, Standard publishing company Number of Pages: 954

Author: Blackmar, Frank Wilson, 1854-1931, ed
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago, Standard publishing company
Number of Pages: 954